Immediate Family

About William Wilkins, US Senator, Minister to Russia

William Wilkins was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on December 20, 1779, one of ten children of Captain John Wilkins, an influential Presbyterian land-owner who later went into business in Pittsburgh, and his wife Catherine Rowan. His sister, Nancy Wilkins, married Ebenezer Denny, the first mayor of Pittsburgh, and Hamar Denny, who also attended the local Dickinson College, was his nephew. William returned to his birthplace to enter Dickinson's class of 1802 but did not graduate and instead studied the law under David Watts.

He was admitted to the Pittsburgh Bar in December 1801 and began a private practice. He later entered manufacturing and banking, becoming the first president of the Bank of Pittsburgh in 1814. He was elected to the state house as a Federalist in 1821 but resigned soon after to become the presiding judge of the fifth judicial district of Pennsylvania. In 1824, he became a federal judge and in 1831 was selected to the United States Senate as a Jacksonian Democrat. He served until 1834 when he was named Minister to Russia after challenging Van Buren's bid for the vice presidency. When he returned, he served briefly in the House until President Tyler appointed him to be his Secretary of War in February 1844, a post in which he advocated western territorial expansion. When he left this position in 1845, it was his last involvement with politics other than a short term as a Democratic state representative in between 1855 and 1857.

He retired to a large estate near Pittsburgh, known as "Homewood," where he built an impressive Greek style mansion. Though still a Democrat, he vigorously advocated the Union cause when the Civil War broke out, taking the ceremonial position of major general in the Pennsylvania Home Guard in 1862.

He married Catherine Holmes who died after only one year in 1816. He then married Mathilda Dallas in 1818, with whom he had seven children. William Wilkins died at "Homewood" on June 23, 1865.

The Judge's Land: Judge William Wilkins The Honorable William Wilkins (1779 - 1865) was a prominent Pittsburgh jurist, United States senator, and Secretary of War under President Tylor. In 1839, he constructed a stately mansion called "Homewood." From this, the cemetery later took its name.

Once situated on 650 acres, the home stood slightly north of the cemetery on what is today Reynolds Street at South Murtland Avenue. The house was constructed in the middle a virgin forest when Pittsburgh was a town of 21,500. Its long entrance drive began on Penn Avenue, then known as The Great Road to the West (Wilkins Avenue was at one time a private road leading from Judge Wilkins' home to Oakland). For sixty years, the estate had the reputation of being the most fashionable and aristocratic countryseat in Western Pennsylvania. A place of entertainment for all notables traveling west, its visitors included Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Generals Jackson and Taylor.

In the spring of 1878, several years after the Judge's death, a portion of the estate was offered for sale for use as a burial ground to a newly-formed cemetery corporation chaired by William Rea. On March 26, 1878, the board accepted the offer of a 178-acre tract of land for $175,000 at 6% annual interest over a 20-year period. The Homewood Cemetery was dedicated on August 17, 1878.

At his death in 1865, Judge Wilkins was interred at Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville. His remains were returned to Homewood in January 1881, and entombed in a private family mausoleum.

William Wilkins (December 20, 1779 – June 23, 1865) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During his career, he served in both houses of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and in all three branches of the United States federal government, including service as a United States federal judge, as a member of both the House and Senate, and as a cabinet member.

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Wilkins attended Pittsburgh Academy,[1] read law in 1801 and graduated from Dickinson College in 1802. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh from 1801 to 1806, then in Lexington, Kentucky from 1806 to 1807, and again in Pittsburgh from 1808 to 1815. He was President, Pittsburgh City Council from 1816 to 1819. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1819 to 1820.

William Wilkins (December 20, 1779 – June 23, 1865) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During his career, he served in both houses of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and in all three branches of the United States federal government, including service as a United States federal judge, as a member of both the House and Senate, and as a cabinet member.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Wilkins attended Pittsburgh Academy, read law in 1801 and graduated from Dickinson College in 1802. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh from 1801 to 1806, then in Lexington, Kentucky from 1806 to 1807, and again in Pittsburgh from 1808 to 1815. He was President, Pittsburgh City Council from 1816 to 1819. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1819 to 1820.

Judicial service

Wilkins became a judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania in 1820, serving until 1824. On May 10, 1824, Wilkins was nominated by President James Monroe to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Jonathan Hoge Walker. Wilkins was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 12, 1824, and received his commission the same day. He resigned on April 14, 1831, to begin his own term of service in the United States Senate.

Career in national politics

Wilkins was elected to both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as a Democrat and a Jacksonian. He was a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1831 to 1834. In the election of 1832, Wilkins received 30 electoral votes from Pennsylvania for the Vice Presidency (the other 189 votes went to the official party nominee, Martin Van Buren). After returning to private practice in Pittsburgh from 1836 to 1843, he was a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 1843 to 1844. He served as U.S. Secretary of War from 1844 to 1845 under President John Tyler.

Later life

In 1845, Willkins returned to the private practice of law in Pittsburgh. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1855 to 1857, and was in private practice of law in Pittsburgh until his death, in 1865. Wilkins died in 1865 in Homewood, near Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pa, and was buried in the Homewood Cemetery there. Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania is named after him. His brother, Ross Wilkins, was a notable jurist in Michigan.

William Wilkins (December 20, 1779 – June 23, 1865) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During his career, he served in both houses of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, and in all three branches of the United States federal government, including service as a United States federal judge, as a member of both the House and Senate, and as a cabinet member.

Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Wilkins attended Pittsburgh Academy,[1] read law in 1801 and graduated from Dickinson College in 1802. He was in private practice in Pittsburgh from 1801 to 1806, then in Lexington, Kentucky from 1806 to 1807, and again in Pittsburgh from 1808 to 1815. He was President, Pittsburgh City Council from 1816 to 1819. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1819 to 1820. Judicial service

Wilkins became a judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania in 1820, serving until 1824. On May 10, 1824, Wilkins was nominated by President James Monroe to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania vacated by Jonathan Hoge Walker. Wilkins was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 12, 1824, and received his commission the same day. He resigned on April 14, 1831, to begin his own term of service in the United States Senate.